The Best Comic Books of All Time: Y The Last Man

Posted 11 years ago by myetvmedia

Max Romano

In 2002, Brian K Vaughan and Vertigo would begin one of the greatest sci fi series in comics Y: The Last Man.

Imagine a world where every living thing (every living mammal) with a Y chromosome dies suddenly. This is the world of Y, a world of women. But there are two male survivors; Yorick Brown an amateur magician and his capuchin monkey, Ampersand.

Courtesy of Vertigo

The story follows Yorick, who seems at first to be an idiot savant but will grow into a man as the story progresses. Taking place on Earth in the modern era, the story encompasses many scenarios that might be very plausible.

Yorick is protected by two women, a doctor and a secret agent. They toil to save the world; after all, the human race will become extinct without males and Yorick and his monkey are mankind’s last hope. But Yorick, in New York City when the plague struck, only desires to be reunited with his girlfriend Beth Deville who at the time was far away in Australia. This provides for a perfect dramatic setup and over the course of the 60 issues – 11 soft covers or five hard covers – the story twists and turns and you really won’t see the big stuff coming.

Courtesy of Vertigo

The villains of the series are some of the most terrifying in comics; they have very relatable and human motives. The story raises pertinent moral questions that fall into very grey areas and gets you thinking; the biggest of which is the use of biological weaponry and the ensuing aftermath of chaos that sets the scenario for the story.

Y is a story that takes us around the world as it unfolds and presents an apocalyptic scenario that we haven’t seen before. The story is as much about the many finely detailed characters as it is about a world on the brink.

Courtesy of Vertigo

Y: The Last Man is illustrated by Pia Guerra who does an amazing job of representing both the characters and their environment. The art presents the world much as it is; diverse and sprawling. The story takes place over the course of years and the illustrations astonishingly capture every detail, even the slightest change or adaptation in a character’s age, physical appearance or mood. The series’ covers were illustrated primarily by J. G. Jones and Massimo Carnevale.


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The Best Comic Books of All Time: Y The Last Man

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Y: The Last Man - Top 24 Comic Books of All Time

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